


it's an abstract world / you're an abstract man

by ajlynn14



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Date, First Meetings, Fluff, Italian Nico, Journalist Nico, M/M, Multi, Nico is a Dork, No Angst, Obligatory Airport AU, Southern Will, Surgeon Will, Tags Are Hard, They're both around 20 years old here, a lot of stuff will be ooc, cursing, delayed flight, don't ask why Nico is a journalist it just felt right ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-09 02:26:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11659701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajlynn14/pseuds/ajlynn14
Summary: Nico didn't do crushes. They were inconvenient, he never had time to make them work, and even if he did have time, they never seemed to work out in his favor. So yeah. Nico didn't do crushes, and heespeciallywasn't one for love at first sight.That was, until a certain blond haired, blue eyed, sunshiney asshole felt that it was his job to keep Nico company while they waited for their flight.Life could be unfair that way.





	it's an abstract world / you're an abstract man

“Oh, you have _got_ to be _shitting_ me!”

Well this was lovely. Just his luck. The only flight that had been scheduled to leave New York tonight had been cancelled on account of some storm or hurricane or, whatever. All Nico knew was that he wouldn’t have cared if they told him he was flying to California on a 40 year old toy bat-copter, he needed to be on that flight. Bianca would never let him forget it if he was late for Christmas, and he didn’t even want to _think_ about the kind of torture Zoë would put him through when she found out her precious girlfriend’s little brother ruined their Christmas. Just thinking of the lectures he’d have to sit through and the dishes he’d have to wash pulled his mouth into a pinched line as he approached the help desk.

“Excuse me, Miss? When is the next flight from here to Santa Clara?” Nico asked. A sweet looking lady with deep olive skin glanced in his direction, clacked away on her keyboard for a few seconds and barked out,

“Seven thirty tomorrow.” And she was back at her keyboard as if Nico had never existed at all. Great, what a surprise that it would be Nico’s luck which landed him in an airport for nine hours just because of some clouds. Weren’t planes supposed to fly _over_ the clouds anyway? He could already see the absolute hell that was the infamous morning flight taking up his entire day tomorrow. Every aisle, middle, and window seat was filled with some poor commuter (decked in clothes way too bulky for a seven hour flight) going to see family with anywhere from 2-10 loud kids who cry each time the plane bounces. (And if you think there’s any sort of exaggeration happening, you’ve _never_ ridden the morning flight.)

He sent Bianca a text explaining that he’d be late, and resigned himself to the fact that he’d be sleeping in an airport for a few hours, because he was _not_ going to call Percy and sit in the car with him for another hour long drive. Nico loved the guy, he really did; but sixty uninterrupted minutes of listening to him drone on and on about Annabeth, or Sally, or how well his sister was doing in school is too much for one person to handle, he didn’t think he’d be able to do it twice in one night. No, Nico would consider sleeping on hard linoleum floors and a backpack _paradise_ in comparison to that nightmare. It couldn’t be _that_ bad, could it? It was only a few hours, nothing he couldn’t handle. Just a few hours and then he’d be flying smoothly to Cali and he could get all the sleep he wanted. Planes were the one place where being tiny had it’s advantages. Plus, he had his headphones, his phone was charged, and since nobody in their right mind wants to talk to the weird kid in dark clothes, it actually seems like this could work out pretty well. No awkward conversations, no crowded plane seats, just hours of old rock bands, watery coffee, and trashy magazines. Yeah, this could be alright.

“Excuse me? Do you know what time the next flight leaves for Santa Clara?” A voice at the desk carried over to where Nico was sitting by the windows. The same 'kind lady’ let out a prolonged sigh before spewing out the same no-nonsense answer she had given Nico just minutes before. The first voice replied with something Nico couldn’t make out, but the southern lilt to his words was obvious and the charm was practically pouring off of this person’s nameless body. Nico gave into his curiosity and looked up from his lap to see the back of a body that was _at least_ six feet tall. His hair was shaggy and blond and he held what looked like a leather computer bag over a plaid shoulder. (Now, he normally wasn’t one to generalize, but six foot, blond, with a southern accent… Nico could _appreciate that._ ) Everything about him looked easy and natural. Before he had the time to control his staring, the faceless man turned around, gave a sunny smile when he spotted Nico, and started to walk over to him. The sight of that smile immediately made Nico’s solitary paradise state of mind a lot more panicked. (Read: Set everything on fire and raised his heart rate exponentially.)

Nico. Was. Fucked.

“Hey! I noticed you sitting alone and wondered if you’d like a little company? Doesn’t look like you’re going anywhere soon.” The boy gestured to his various bags littered on the ground and his phone plugged into the wall. Nico stood up a little too quickly and tried to gather some semblance of dignity before speaking to the stranger. He wiped his hand on his jeans and held it out, and the other grabbed it.

“Yeah, my flight to California got canceled. I heard you talking over at the desk and it sounds like we’re going to the same place.” Great job Nico, he thought, now you sound like a stalker. He let go of the stranger's hand and put his thumb in his pocket. “I’m Nico by the way.”

“Will Solace.” He blinked as he said his name, and for the first time since seeing him, Nico realized that he had blue eyes. _Blue. Eyes._ Why was the world so unfair. “I like your t-shirt by the way,” He gestured to Nico’s chest. He gestured a lot. “I don’t listen to the Ramones religiously, per se, but I like what I’ve heard. My sister has a boyfriend that’s really into them.” There was a smile in his voice when he mentioned his sister, and Nico could’ve gotten high on the way that his breath smelled like cinnamon and, oh god he’s in way too deep for his own good. He swallowed back some of his butterflies and clung desperately to any kind of direction that the conversation was going. He might not be the best conversationalist but god dammit he was going to talk this boy into oblivion if it meant seeing those eyes just a bit longer. Nico immediately cringed at his inner sappy romantic self. He could practically hear Jason laughing at how hopeless he was. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

“They’re pretty great,” he stuttered out. Will had shifted from standing in front of Nico to leaning casually on the column. “have you listened to Mama’s Boy? It’s my favorite song of theirs and it’s a damn shame that it didn’t blow up like some of their other stuff did.” It wasn’t really his favorite song, just the first one in his head. If he was honest, he hadn’t listened to the Ramones in months, it was just the most loose fitting t-shirt he had to travel in, and his lovesick brain decided that the best song to bring up around the cutest guy in the terminal was one of the most mainstream songs that the Ramones had ever written. Good going Nico, way to be smooth.

“Never heard of it,” Will’s face morphed into the most shit-eating grin that he had ever had the pleasure of witnessing. “but maybe you could show it to me?” Nico was _so close_ to halting himself and saying no, but the way his eyes got so nervous, and the way his tongue flitted over his lips; Jesus Christ, even Nico wasn’t heartless enough to say no. He was human after all, and no matter how many times he’d deny it, Will had him wrapped around his finger. Curse his gay little heart.

“Yeah, a-alright.” Nico turned his back to get his headphones and pull his phone off the charger, and by the time he turned around again, Will had set his computer bag and small suitcase down against the pillar. The way he was sitting made it physically impossible for Nico to share his headphones without being pressed right next to him, and for the first time since they’d met, his ‘stranger danger’ alarms started going off. He swallowed back his anxiety and squeezed in between Will and the wall. Weren’t all of his friends always telling him to put himself out there? (Though this might not have been what they meant…)

“So what was the name of the song? Boy’s-” he shook his head. “-Mama’s Boy!” Will blurted out. Nico let out the tiniest giggle, and his eyes widened as he felt his face heat up and he slapped his hand over his mouth, but his smile was still peeking out the sides. If this kid was actually some murderous stranger, then he was doing a _really_ good job hiding his identity, because Nico couldn’t picture him anywhere that wasn’t a grocery store or a kindergarten. In an effort to conceal his embarrassment, he silently waved the left earbud in front of Will’s face, and he accepted it with a smirk. Due to the frankly insulting height difference, Will had to lower his head to rest on Nico’s shoulder so that they could share the earbuds, resulting in Nico having about eighteen heart attacks at once. He forced himself to control his heart rate, because the way Will was laying and the fact that just he let out a silent chuckle meant that he could probably hear his pulse absolutely _pounding._

The song started out the way it always did, with the same electric guitar, the same lyrics, but the happy blond boy curled into his side made it sound infinitely different; like he was hearing it through two inch thick glass, rather than an earbud. Never in his _life_ would Nico have imagined himself in this situation. He operated in life based on two rules; don’t piss off Bianca or Zoë unless you have a literal death wish, and don’t get caught up on boys you have zero chance with. He mentally added an extension to the second rule which read, ‘and _definitely_ don't cuddle with the aforementioned boys in an airport listening to the Ramones and building your future around two blue eyes.’ Good going, Nico. In one night you've already violated the only two rules you've ever held yourself accountable to.

The guitar faded out and Will sat up and returned the earbud. Nico’s shoulder felt cold without Will’s head rested on it. (And my God, that boy was a human radiator.) He clicked open his phone to check the time, which gave Nico the perfect opportunity to freak the fuck out, because _holy hell, what was happening._ He’d had a lot of weird things happen to him; his mom had died when he was 13, he lived most of his teenage years in various boarding schools, and once Bianca had grown up and they'd gotten an apartment together, he’d even worked at a sleep away camp for a summer. The last one doesn't too weird, but when you're a hungover 17 year old, and all you want to do is die, it’s strange. Regardless, meeting a stranger in an airport, crushing super hard on him, then proceeding to snuggle against a wall and listen to the Ramones together, now that had to be somewhere at the top of his ‘weird shit’ list.

“Well, that was certainly an experience,” Will stood up and stretched his arms. “I really liked the music, and the meaning behind the lyrics, but sometimes they could be a bit repetitive. At times it felt like they were just shouting out nonsense words that rhymed.” Oh. So Will was the kind of person who liked to analyze songs. That was kind of… endearing?

“I’ll agree with you there, but I feel like it gives the listener a look into the songwriters head. Like, it might not be perfect, but it’s how we were intended to hear it, and it’s honest. So, yeah, that’s why I like it. It’s… unfiltered.” He nodded his head with formality, and Will gave him a smirk that made Nico’s stomach feel like all of the rollercoasters he never rode as a kid. He shifted his weight and leaned his shoulders back and put his hands in his front pockets. Damn this boy.

“Huh. I wouldn’t have thought about it that way.” He pulled his right hand up and started fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, then seemingly thought better of it and settled for tapping against the side of his leg. “Tell you what, you let me buy you a wonderfully prepared, completely organic, all natural airport dinner, and we can talk some more so we both don't die of boredom. It’s my way of repaying you for the song.” Nico’s heart _stopped_. Holy shit, did Will Solace just ask him on a date? (Did airport food constitute as a date?)

Nico spent all of ten seconds weighing his options, his entire thought process being, ‘fuck it, free food with a cute guy.’ “Um, hell yeah dude! I feel like that’s a bit of an unfair trade though, one song in exchange for dinner.”

“Don’t worry about it, besides, it was a good song! Plus, every minute I’m with you is another minute I’m not spending alone, begging my brain to rot out of my skull. Airports have always been hell for me when I’m alone.” He let out a self-deprecating giggle that made Nico wonder how many other boys Will had cornered in airport terminals and whether they’d offered to share their headphones with them. Was Nico even a little different?

“I don’t mind airports, but a nice little combination of ADHD and insomnia would've had me bored and annoyed all night. Nico offered. “I mean, I guess that’s true for any time I have to be in one place for a while,” he patted the wall. “so don’t worry airport, it’s not just you.” Will let out a snort and rolled his eyes. It should’ve been an unattractive action, but this asshole managed to make it look good; _cute,_ even.

“I feel you there, ADHD is a bitch, man.” He leaned his back against the wall next to Nico and put his elbow on his shoulder like the _six-foot scum_ he was. “But anyway, what do you want to eat? You have the diverse choice of either McDonald’s, a closed coffee shop, and what looks like a sort of off-brand Salad Works.” He smiled, and his eyes were shining. Nico decided that he needed to answer immediately, because his cologne, or laundry detergent, or _whatever_ was starting to make him delightfully lightheaded.

“It’s a tough choice, but I think I’ll have to go with my old dependable friend, McDonald’s.” Nico shot him a smirk, and just like that, Will was grabbing his wrist and dragging Nico across the terminal with a pace that was way too excited for a grown man at ten o’clock at night. But then again, he _did_ give off that aura that he was constantly hovering somewhere between acting like a small puppy or a soft and snuggly cat. Nico chuckled to himself, did he really just compare this twenty-seven-foot tall man-child to a tiny, fragile cat? Meh, it suited him. He was brought back to his head when he realized that they’d slowed down a bit, and yet Will wasn’t letting go of his wrist. His hand genuinely was so hot that Nico thought if he held on any longer, his entire arm might spontaneously combust. He also had pins and needles all over the right side of his body, but that was probably due to something a bit more… emotional, rather than physical. He’d thought it already, so what was the problem with once more; Nico was totally, completely, utterly screwed.

“Here you are, sir. Your gourmet dinner, awaits.” Will let go of his arm and held open the door for him.

Now it was Nico’s turn to let out a snort. “You’re _such_ a dork.” Will flashed him a smile and promptly dipped into a bow, mimicking removing his hat. This prompted an explosive bout of laughter from both of them, and a small giggle from a little kid and his mom. The mom shot him a signature Mom Smile™, you know the type. That little knowing smile that’s a bit too mischievous for your liking. Jesus Christ, was Nico really that obvious?

Nico ordered his grand meal of a cheeseburger and fries, because honestly, what kind of person were you if you tried to order anything else off of the McDonald’s menu? In his opinion, a bad one. Nico filled his drink and wandered over to a booth in the corner of the dining area, which, with five tables, was hardly an ‘area’ and more of a ‘section,’ but nonetheless, he sat. Will joined him a few minutes later with two trays of squashed burgers in paper wrappers, and Nico swore on his life that it was the most attractive Will had ever been to him. A super tall blond guy, with blue eyes, carrying food to their table in a poorly lit airport McDonald’s? Nico was truly blessed.

“Thanks, Will.” He took a sip of his drink and looked up.

“No problem.” He started to eat, then thought better of it. “This might be a weird question, I don’t know, but what’s your last name? Just wondering.”

“Di Angelo. And it’s not weird.”

“That’s a badass name. As if ‘Nico’ didn't sound Italian enough.” He looked like he was about to start laughing, but Nico beat him to it. They sat and giggled like ten-year-olds for a solid twenty seconds before either of them could catch their breaths. He was always laughing with Will, and Nico appreciated how easy it was to be with him.

“Yeah, well my sister’s name is Bianca, and my mom’s name was Maria, and I can’t even tell which is worse.” He saw Will’s expression falter when he mentioned his mother in past tense, but he respectfully didn't press for answers. “Bianca is actually who I’m going to see for Christmas, her and her girlfriend Zoë live out in San Jose, so they're picking me up at the airport.” Will’s face lit up.

“I’m going only about forty minutes from there, my whole family still lives in Santa Cruz, right near the ocean. I’m the only one who doesn't live there too, so Christmas is the only time we get to see each other. It’s nice though, I like New York.” Will smiled, again. Nico could hardly believe that somebody as smiley as Will could exist. “So what about you, were you born in New York?”

“Yeah, but if you'd known me when I was little you wouldn't have been able to tell. My mom couldn't speak English for… a long time. We only spoke Italian around the house, so when Bianca went to school, she had to learn English from the teachers, and she’d come home and teach my mom and me everything they taught her that day. She kind of ran the house in that way for a long time. She said it was because she didn't want me to have to learn everything new when I got to school, she’s really the best.” Nico finished his monologue and looked across the table to find Will absolutely beaming.

“She sounds awesome, seriously. I moved to New York for medical school. I got into Weill Cornell, which might sound like it means a lot, but actually just means I’m going to be in debt for the rest of my life.” He blew out a nervous laugh.

“Who isn’t, honestly. I’d never survive in Medical school, I mean I don’t mind blood or surgeries or anything like that, I just don't think I could stick it out for so many years. What field are you training to go into?”

“Well, I’m double-majoring in biology and organic chemistry with a minor in biochemistry, so those can get me like, ninety percent of jobs in the medical field, but I’m hoping to work as a general surgeon. I’ll work with anybody who isn't like, a super young kid. I’d probably have a heart attack if I had to perform serious surgery on a little kid, that'd scare me too much.” He looked like he'd put _a lot_ of thought into his future. Nico, on the other hand…

“Well, I’m a liberal arts major with a minor in journalism, so we clearly lead very different lives.” All Will’s talk about becoming a surgeon and getting accepted into a fucking _elite_ medical school, it was a little daunting. Nico felt a little under qualified in the face of such a prodigal person, so much so that it made his head spin and brought back some buried feelings of inadequacy that he immediately pushed down as far as the could go. “I don't really have too much of a plan, but I want to go into something in writing, probably Journalism. I don’t have a reason why, it just feels like something I’d enjoy doing.” Nico sheepishly looked down at his tray, his aspirations weren't nearly as revolutionary as Will’s were, he was just hoping that Will would look past that.

“Oh _man!_ ” Nico looked up to see Will bring his head down to the table with a hand covering his face. “You’re a writer?! Damn, I can function fine in normal conversation, but anything I write is about as enjoyable as swallowing an entire bag of sand. Writer’s are badass man, I wish I could write.” He picked his head up and looked at Nico and with a warm grin, which definitely did not make Nico blush up to his ears. Definitely not. “What do you like to write?”

The question was the same one everyone asked, and Nico was actually ready this time. “I like to write what you _could_ call satire, but it’s not really? I like to take things that I know and things that I’m familiar with and turn them into these crazy and wild stories that you wouldn't even know were based off of everything real. Not that it works every time, it hardly works half of the time, but when it does, it’s stupidly satisfying.” Nico saw the quizzical look on Will’s face, and swiped his hand across his forehead as he tried to articulate exactly what he meant. “It’s like… the way, before technology and you know, basic information, people used to come up with mythical explanations for things? Kind of? Like how people would explain the sun rising and setting as Apollo driving the Sun Chariot across the sky every single day. Kind of like that, just on a smaller scale.” He laid his back against the booth and tried to play off the fact that he had gotten so close to the edge of his seat, and used his hands so wildly, that it he probably looked closer to clinically insane than artistically driven.

“No offense, but that’s probably the coolest shit I’ve ever heard in my entire 21 years of living.” Nico’s head was reeling, not because he had said that, but because it was _so evident_ that he meant it with his whole heart. He looked windblown and his face was flushed and his hand was in his hair and he looked so genuinely happy that Nico couldn’t be anything but amazed that all of that happiness was because of him. He was used to being the kind of person who made people uncomfortable before he met them, but not Will. Will was so different from everyone else, and it was refreshing.

“Not as cool as being a surgeon in training! You’re working to save lives, I’m working as an intern for the New York Post. Literally, the only thing I’m doing is making coffee and delivering messages from co-workers who are too entitled to stand up and go talk to the editor on their own. It’s like I’m some sort of underpaid carrier pigeon.” Nico knew he was being unfair to Will, but he couldn't help it. No matter how much he grew up, he would always be some brand of petulant little kid on the inside. But Will, the bastard, Will started laughing.

The thing about Will, when he laughed, every single little thing in the world seemed to freeze, if only for a moment. Everybody, the girl at the register, the man reading a magazine at their neighboring table, and of course, Nico, hopeless romantic Nico, stopped. Everyone looked up to see this barely adult man laughing his ass off at an airport McDonald’s at eleven at night, and nobody could help but to smile. The man chuckled and sent a kind smile at Nico, the lady gave a blushing grin, and Nico, well. He was probably hovering somewhere in between heaven and something higher than that, because Jesus Christ, this boy could not get any better, could he? His face was freckled, his eyes were squeezed tight, and his nose was completely scrunched up; he should've looked like an idiot, but the only word Nico could find was ‘beautiful.’ Will was beautiful. There would never be enough words in his metaphoric lexical arsenal that could describe everything that was Will Solace, but beautiful came pretty close. Once Will had calmed down, he started speaking with tears in his eyes, and Nico was starstruck. (He always seemed to be starstruck with Will, and now was no exception.)

“Sorry, I don’t know why I found that so funny… I guess it just caught me off guard. But Journalism is so cool! You can teach anybody how to stitch a wound or set a bone, no classroom can teach you how to be creative and create original ideas. Sure, you can be taught to write, but you can’t be taught to be a writer. Either you are or you aren’t, period.” Will gave Nico’s hand a pat across the table. It felt like something an older brother or a dad would've done, not someone you’ve known for two hours. It was oddly intimate.

“Yeah, well, whatever. Surgeons are still fucking impressive.” Will snorted and rolled his eyes. “We talked about my sister, do you have any siblings?” Nico desperately steered the topic away from his own personal encouragement party.

“Oh, yeah. I have probably the biggest family ever. I don’t have any biological siblings, but I’ve got somewhere around fifteen cousins, and we all live within walking distance of each other, plus we’re all pretty close in age. So when we were little we were hardly ever seen without each other, which just means that my aunts and uncles along with my mom are saints, because there wasn't a single one of us who wasn't a little shit. I would name them all, but it’s be boring. I’m closest with my cousins Kayla and Austin though, I stayed at their house a lot. I haven't seen any of them in God knows how long, but I miss them sometimes.” Nico listened tranquilly as Will droned on and on about his family. He had a forlorn smile on his face, but Nico didn’t think it looked sad. Of course he missed them if they were really that close, but he seemed like he was confident in his relationship with them. He missed them, but he felt comfortable just knowing they were there.

“It’s nice that you're all so close.” Nico interjected after Will finished some anecdote about how Kayla had forced him to give her a short haircut when they were seven. (Will’s mom was livid, Kayla’s parents laughed their asses off.) “It’s just Bianca and I. My mom had a sister back in Italy, but I don’t know where she is now, or if she had any kids.” It was true. Maria di Angelo had left behind a lot the moment she decided to move her and her husband to America. She lost her family, her friends, and her country. Her husband left her as soon as she became pregnant with Nico, and he couldn't remember her leaving the house until the day that she died. She was afraid, but of what, he’ll never know.

“Yeah, it’s great, but it could get tiring. Plus, I’m the oldest of all of us, so I got blamed for nearly everything. I would've killed to have at least one older cousin.” He sighed and stretched his arms over his head. Nico was almost positive that a McDonald’s booth couldn't be comfortable for a six-foot guy, whereas Nico was comfortably sitting cross-legged on the bench, like the child he was.

“Jesus no, older siblings are always looking for an excuse to assert dominance over you, whether it’s forcing you to do their chores or bullying you into giving them money. Being the youngest sucks.” Will laughed and stood up, so Nico reciprocated. They each picked up their trays and chatted amiably as they walked over to drop them off.

“So, it’s nearly eleven o’clock, and I don’t know about you, but I’m tired as hell.” Will rubbed his eyes to subconsciously prove his statement. “So I’d suggest we go back to our bags and at least _try_ to get some sleep. Sound good?”

“Uh, yeah, sure dude I’ll do whatever. Thanks again for buying me dinner.” Will put his hands in his jeans pockets and tilted his head upward as he walked.

“It’s really no problem. Hey, let me see your phone for a second?” He suddenly stopped in the middle of his walking and Nico nearly slammed into a sleepy little girl who had been walking behind him. He reached into his pocket and handed his phone over to Will, but before the other had a chance to grab it, he pulled his arm back and grinned mischievously.

“You don’t have some grand plan to befriend me and then steal all of my possessions afterward, do you? Are you going to ask for my wallet next? My social security number, perhaps?” Will rolled his eyes and lunged for the phone. Nico relented and gave it to him after unlocking it.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, besides, if I had really wanted to rob you, I could’ve stolen your stuff earlier and then just held it above my head so you couldn't reach it.” He winked, and Nico may or may not have melted inside.

“Asshole. I am five feet and six inches of pure fury. But actually, why did you need my phone? My curiosity is piqued.” Will handed back the phone, and Nico saw that he’d sent a text to a number that Nico didn’t have saved. He returned his hands to his pockets and shrugged.

“Gave you my number so that you can buy me dinner sometime.” Now, Will’s voice _sounded_ calm, but he was probably fairing about as well as Nico, judging by the way his ears had turned red and he was worrying his lip with his teeth. Nico didn't even have thoughts anymore, his brain was just a cacophony of voices screaming _“HOLY SHIT!!”_ as if he had been taken from the airport and transported straight into a scene from Heathers the musical. To put it eloquently, he was flipping the fuck out, but he was trying to play it as cool as possible so that Will didn’t feel bad.

“I’ll definitely take you up on that offer… you were a pretty good date.” Will looked ecstatic for approximately ten seconds, before his eyes bugged out of his head and in an almost cartoonish turn of events, stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Nico disbelievingly. His mouth kept opening and closing, and Nico’s smile only grew wider and wider with each passing second. Someone mark the date because he’d just managed to render the most personable and chatty guy he'd ever met speechless.

“Pretty good?! _Excuse you_ I am a fucking _blessing_ to be around.” Will spluttered after he finally found his words. He ran his hands through his hair and kept walking muttering something that sounded a bit like, “Pretty good… yeah, okay.” Nico laced their arms together and laughed when Will let out a strangled yelp.

“Of course you are, now how about you show me whatever shitty pop music you probably listen to, so it’s a fair trade.” Will sat down at his suitcase and pulled out his own headphones, and they settled into the same position as they were in earlier.

“I listen to pretty much anything, but the 1975 is my favorite band at the moment. I know you've probably heard of them, but I doubt you've actually listen to them, you know, since it’s not some death metal alternative band,-” Will winked.

“Hey, I resent that.” Nico interjected, bumping Will’s shoulder.

“-but I think you'll like them.” Will finished with another smile, and if Nico was being honest, that boy had smiles that just got better every time. Nico would raise the dead just so he could see that smile every day, but the best part was, he didn’t have to.

“Carry on, then.”

The floor was cold, but Will was so unbearably warm that Nico would’ve never needed another jacket again, as long as he was with him. They sat without talking, sometimes Nico wasn't even sure if he was breathing, sometimes he didn't want to. The moment he was living in was so perfect that it felt as though even the slightest breath would bring the world shattering down around them. They sat for so long in such impermeable silence that Nico felt the exact moment when Will’s eyes slid shut, heard his breathing even out the second it happened. Now, normally it would've taken Nico years to get even the tiniest bit of sleep, especially if he wasn't in his own apartment, but the soft music, Will’s steady breathing, and the personal heat box he was sleeping next to, he was out before he could even consider taking Will’s picture. (For strictly blackmail purposes, or course.)

—————-

Needless to say, Will was, in fact, an excellent date, and he took advantage of every dinner following the first to prove it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Leave a comment and tell me how you felt about it, any review is appreciated.
> 
> Also, I made a Tumblr! Follow me at smilesbag for updates on anything related to this account in addition to some posts of me screaming about fictional things. Don't be afraid to send me a message to say hi!  
> 


End file.
